U.S. patent number 5,212,843 [Application Number 07/016,437] was granted by the patent office on 1993-05-25 for helmet.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Shoei Kako Kabushiki Kaisha. Invention is credited to Eitaro Kamata.
United States Patent |
5,212,843 |
Kamata |
May 25, 1993 |
Helmet
Abstract
A helmet includes a cap body which is provided with a chin cover
portion defining the lower edge of a window opening formed on the
front surface of the cap body and a shield plate on the cap body
for closing the window opening. The helmet is formed so that a
shell of the cap body is divided at a position of the chin cover
portion into an upper shell portion and a lower shell portion which
are superposed and connected with each other with the lower shell
portion positioned on the outer side of the upper shell portion, a
distribution chamber communicating with the interior of the cap
body through a plurality of jet ports is defined between the upper
shell portion and the lower shell portion at the chin cover
portion, and an air introducing port in communication with the
distribution chamber and opening to the front surface of the chin
cover portion is provided in the lower shell portion. The jet ports
consist of two groups of which one opens to the rear surface of the
chin cover portion and the other to the lower surface of the window
opening.
Inventors: |
Kamata; Eitaro (Tokyo,
JP) |
Assignee: |
Shoei Kako Kabushiki Kaisha
(Tokyo, JP)
|
Family
ID: |
17886587 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/016,437 |
Filed: |
February 19, 1987 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Dec 17, 1986 [JP] |
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61-300583 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
2/424;
2/171.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42B
3/06 (20130101); A42B 3/24 (20130101); A42B
3/283 (20130101); A42B 3/32 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A42B
3/32 (20060101); A42B 3/24 (20060101); A42B
3/06 (20060101); A42B 3/28 (20060101); A42B
3/04 (20060101); A42B 3/18 (20060101); A42B
003/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;2/424,425,410,184.5,171.3,6 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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0081210A2 |
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Jun 1983 |
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EP |
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0081210A3 |
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Apr 1985 |
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EP |
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7628170 |
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Dec 1976 |
|
DE |
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3214020A1 |
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Jul 1983 |
|
DE |
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3304652A1 |
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Sep 1983 |
|
DE |
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3332577A1 |
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Mar 1985 |
|
DE |
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3419302 |
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Nov 1985 |
|
DE |
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3617745A1 |
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Nov 1986 |
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DE |
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3705003A1 |
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Jun 1988 |
|
DE |
|
2353240 |
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Dec 1977 |
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FR |
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2525441 |
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Oct 1983 |
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FR |
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475803 |
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Dec 1937 |
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GB |
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2007493A |
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May 1979 |
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GB |
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2134774A |
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Aug 1984 |
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GB |
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2167285A |
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May 1986 |
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GB |
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2184640 |
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Jul 1987 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Nerbun; Peter
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Armstrong, Westerman, Hattori,
McLeland & Naughton
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A helmet comprising a cap body provided with a chin cover
portion extending to define a lower edge of a window opening on a
front surface of the body and a shield plate mounted on said cap
body for closing the window opening, wherein the cap body has a
shell which is divided at a position of the chin cover portion into
an upper shell portion and a lower shell portion, said upper and
lower shell portions being superposed and connected with each other
with the lower shell portion positioned on an outer side of said
upper shell, a distribution chamber defined between said upper
shell portion and said lower shell portion at said chin cover
portion, a plurality of jet ports providing fluid communication
between said distribution chamber and an interior of said cap body,
and an air introducing port in said lower shell portion, said air
introducing port opening through a front surface of said chin cover
portion and providing fluid communication with said distribution
chamber.
2. A helmet comprising:
a cap body provided with a chin cover portion extending to define a
lower edge of a window opening on a front surface of the body and a
shield plate mounted on said cap body for closing the window
opening;
a distribution chamber laterally extending in said chin cover
portion;
an air introducing port communicating with said distribution
chamber and opening to a front surface of said chin cover
portion;
a plurality of first jet ports extending from a rear portion of
said distribution chamber and opening to a rear surface of said
chin cover portion;
a plurality of second jet ports extending from an upper portion of
said distribution chamber and opening to a lower surface of the
window opening; and
said first and second jet ports being laterally arranged in a first
and second row, respectively.
3. The helmet according to claim 1 wherein said air introducing
port is formed to expand in a forward direction.
4. The helmet according to claim 1 wherein said air introducing
port is located below the distribution chamber.
5. The helmet according to claim 1 wherein said upper shell portion
is formed of thermosetting resin material, and said lower shell
portion is formed of thermoplastic resin material.
6. The helmet according to claim 1 and further including: a single
common valve body housed in the distribution chamber for
simultaneously opening and closing said first and second jet ports,
a slot provided in the cap body and extending in an operating
direction of the valve body, and operating rod connected to said
valve body and having one end projected externally of the cap body
through the slot, and an operating knob mounted on said projected
end of the rod so as to cover the slot at all times.
7. The helmet according to claim 1, further comprising a discharge
port having an outside opening provided in said upper shell portion
and covered by the lower shell portion with a vent gap formed
between the opening and the lower shell portion.
8. The helmet according to claim 2 wherein said air introducing
port is formed to expand in a forward direction.
9. The helmet according to claim 2 wherein said air introducing
port is located below the distribution chamber.
10. The helmet according to claim 2 and further including: a single
common valve body housed in the distribution chamber for
simultaneously opening and closing said first and second jet ports,
a slot provided in the cap body and extending in an operating
direction of the valve body, an operating rod connected to said
valve body and having one end projected externally of the cap body
through the slot, and an operating knob mounted on said projected
end of the rod so as to cover the slot at all times.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention principally relates to helmets of a type used
by an operator of a motorcycle or a racing car, and particularly to
an improvement in a helmet in which a cap body is provided with a
chin cover portion extending so as to define the lower edge of a
window opening in a front surface of the cap body, and a shield
plate is provided on the cap body to close the window opening.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has conventionally been known a helmet designed so that in
order to prevent a wearer's breath from staying inside its cap
body, air introducing holes are made in the chin cover portion of
the cap body so as to introduce into the interior of the cap body a
travelling wind generated as the result of travelling of a vehicle
operated by the wearer.
However, in the construction of the conventional helmet, even if an
attempt is made to form larger air introducing holes in order to
effectively introduce the travelling wind inside the chin cover
portion, there is a certain limitation for the reason of strength
of the chin cover portion.
Furthermore, the wearer's breath cannot be promptly discharged
outside the cap body, and a blur sometimes occurs on the inner
surface of the shield plate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been achieved in view of the foregoing,
and it is an object of the invention to provide a helmet of the
aforesaid type which is constructed to effectively introduce the
travelling wind into the chin cover portion without impairing the
strength of the chin cover portion and can promptly discharge the
wearer's breath outside the cap body.
For achieving the above-described object, according to a first
aspect of the present invention, there is provided a helmet
comprising a cap body which has a shell divided into an upper shell
portion and a lower shell portion at a position of a chin cover
portion, these shell portions being superposed and connected with
each other with the lower shell portion positioned on the outer
side of the upper portion a distribution chamber communicating with
the interior of the cap body through a plurality of jet ports is
defined between the upper shell portion and the lower shell portion
at the chin cover portion, and an air introducing port in
communication with the distribution chamber and opening to the
front surface of the chin cover portion is provided in the lower
shell portion.
With the above-described construction, the travelling wind
introduced from the air introducing port into the distribution
chamber can be positively supplied into a predetermined position
within the cap body and effectively remove a hot air staying inside
the cap body, and the distribution chamber and air introducing port
can be formed in the shell easily without significantly impairing
the strength thereof.
In addition to the aforementioned structure, if an exhaust port is
provided to have an outside opening in the upper shell portion and
the opening is covered by the lower shell portion leaving a vent
gap therebetween, the lower shell portion can be utilized as a
cover for the discharge port to preclude entry of rain or the like
into the discharge port while allowing the discharge of air
therefrom. Accordingly, a cover for exclusive use with the port
need not be provided, thus enabling a helmet to be produced at less
cost.
Furthermore, according to a second aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a helmet having a chin cover portion in which are
provided a laterally extending distribution chamber, an air
introducing port communicating with said distribution chamber and
opening to the front surface of the chin cover portion, a plurality
of first jet ports communicating with the distribution chamber and
opening to the rear surface of the chin cover portion and a
plurality of second jet ports communicating with the distribution
chamber and opening to the lower surface of a window opening.
Owing to the above-described structure, the travelling wind
introduced into the distribution chamber can be distributed into a
multiplicity of first and second jet ports and can be blown from a
wide range of the inner surface of the chin cover portion. In
addition, a wearer's breath is guided rearward by the air blown
from the first jet ports, and the inside surface of the shield
plate is cleaned by the air blown from the second jet ports. With
these arrangements, the breath staying inside the shield plate can
be eliminated to prevent a blur from occurring to the inner surface
of the shield plate.
In addition to the above-described structure, with the provision
that a single common valve body for simultaneously opening and
closing the aforesaid plurality of jet ports is housed in the
distribution chamber, an operating rod is connected to the valve
body and has one end projected externally of the cap body through a
slot extending in the operating direction of the valve body, and an
operating knob for always covering said slot is provided on the
projected end of said rod, it is ensured that the opening and
closing of the jet ports can be effected readily and promptly, and
the number of parts can be reduced and therefore the construction
can be made simple and provided at less cost. Furthermore, since
the valve body is housed in the distribution chamber and the slot
through which the operating rod extends is always covered by the
operating knob, a good external appearance of the cap body can be
secured.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will be apparent from the description of preferred
embodiments which will be described in detail in connection with
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in
which:
FIG. 1 is a front view of a helmet according to the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view thereof;
FIG. 3 is a bottom view thereof;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line IV--IV of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line V--V of FIG. 2;
FIGS. 6 and 7 are sectional views taken on lines VI--VI and
VII--VII respectively, of FIG. 4;
FIG. 8 is a view seen from the arrow VIII of FIG. 6;
FIG. 9 is a plan view of a valve body and its operating rod;
FIG. 10 is a front view thereof;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on line XI--XI of FIG. 9; and
FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing essential
parts.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
One embodiment of the present invention will be described
hereinafter with reference to the drawings. Referring first to
FIGS. 1 to 5, a full-face helmet is indicated at H which is
principally worn by an operator for a motorcycle or a racing car.
More accurately, a cap body 1 has a window opening 2 defined in the
front wall thereof and further has a chin cover portion 1a directly
below the opening 2. A light-pervious or transparent shield plate 3
is mounted at its opposite ends to the cap body 1 by means of
pivots 4, 4 so that the window opening 2 can be opened and closed
by upward and downward movements of the shield plate 3.
The cap body 1 is composed of a shell 5, a buffer liner 6 made of
foamed polystyrene set inside the shell 5, a ceiling pad 7 made of
relatively thick urethane foam adhered to the ceiling surface of
the buffer liner 6, and a sweat proof cushion 8 adhered to the
inner peripheral surface of the buffer liner 6 except its ceiling
surface and the chin cover portion 1a.
The shell 5 is divided into an upper shell portion 5A and a lower
shell portion 5B at a level of the chin cover portion 1a. Both the
portions 5A and 5B are superposed while the lower shell portion 5B
is positioned externally and are connected with each other at a few
positions tbereof by means of rivets 9. The upper shell portion 5A
is molded from thermosetting resin such as fiber-reinforced
polyester, and the lower shell portion 5B is made by injection
folding from thermoplastic resin such as ABS. If the shell 5 is
divided into upper and lower portions as described above, even when
the shell 5 takes a shape having its lower opening portion
converged or narrowed, molding of the lower portion of the shell 5
can be accomplished easily.
The ceiling pad 7 is divided into a plurality of sections so as to
define longitudinally extending vent grooves 10 inside the cap body
1.
In the chin cover portion la is defined a laterally elongating
distribution chamber 12 by three members, i.e., the upper shell
portion 5A, the lower portion 5B and an edge rubber 11 adhered to
the peripheral edge portion of the window opening 2. Directly below
the distribution chamber 12 a forwardly spreading air introducing
port 13 and through-holes 14 for bringing the air introducing port
13 into communication with the distribution chamber 12 are provided
in the lower shell portion 5B.
In FIG. 4, and FIGS. 6 to 12, a multiplicity of first jet ports 15
in communication with the distribution chamber 12 are formed in the
upper shell portion 5A and the buffer liner 6 so as to open at the
inner surface of the chin cover portion 1a. A multiplicity of
second jet ports 16 are made in the edge rubber 11 for opening the
distribution chamber 12 to the lower surface of the window opening
2. A single common valve body 17 is housed in the distribution
chamber 12 for opening and closing the jet ports 15 and 16 which
are arranged in first and second rows respectively.
The valve body 17 is composed of a plate-like valve portion 18
laterally slidably superposed to the rear surface of the
distribution chamber 12 at which the first jet ports 15 are open, a
multiplicity of tongue-like valve portions 19 project forwardly
from the upper end of the plate-like valve portion 18 and slidably
superposed to the upper surface of the distribution chamber 12, and
a plurality of guide projections 20 project forwardly from the
lower end of the plate-like valve portion 18 and placed in sliding
contact with the front surface of the distribution chamber 12.
The plate-like valve portion 18 has provided therein valve holes 21
corresponding in number to the first jet ports 15 so that when the
valve body 17 assumes an open position, the valve holes 21 are
brought into registration with the first jet ports 15 whereas when
the valve body 17 assumes a closed position, the first jet ports 15
are closed. The tongue-like valve portions 19 are provided
correspondingly to and in the same number as that of the second jet
ports 16 so that when the valve body 17 assumes the open position,
the second jet ports 16 are opened whereas when the valve body 17
assumes the closed position, the second jet ports 16 are
closed.
One end of an operating rod 22 is connected, in the distribution
chamber 12, to one end of the valve body 17. The other end of the
operating rod 22 is bent outwardly so as to penetrate through a
slot 23 made in the lower shell portion 5B. The penetrating end of
the operating rod 22 is provided at its extremity with a knob 22a
of a size enough to always cover the slot 23.
The slot 23 is formed so as to allow lateral movement of the
operating rod 22 and define the limit of movement thereof. With
this, the limit of rightward movement of the operating rod 22 and
the limit of leftward movement thereof determine the open position
and the closed position of the valve body 17, respectively.
Turning again to FIGS. 1 and 4, the cap body 1 is formed at its
front wall with a pair of left and right air introducing holes 24,
24 located directly above the window opening 2 and adapted to
communicate the interior of the cap body 1 with the exterior. Slide
valves 25, 25 capable of opening and closing these holes 24, 24 are
provided on the shell 5.
The cap body 1 is provided at its left and right walls with
discharge ports 26, 26 adapted to provide a communication between
the outside and inside of the body 1. These discharge ports 26, 26
have outer ends opened at the outer surface of the upper shell
portion 5A, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, and the lower shell portion
5B is formed so as to cover the said outer open ends with a vent
gap 27 being provided therebetween.
The vent gap 27 is opened upwardly and rearwardly, and the lower
portion thereof is closed by a shoulder 28 of the lower shell
portion 5B. The shoulder 28 is rearwardly downwardly inclined. With
this, it is possible to prevent entry of rain into the discharge
ports 26 and to ensure drainage from the vent gap 27.
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 29 designates a chin belt secured to
the inner surface of the upper shell portion 5A by means of rivets
not shown.
Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment will be
described.
For example, if an operator of a motorcycle wears a helmet
according to the present invention, travelling wind blows against
the front surface of the helmet H as the vehicle travels.
Assume no that the valve body 17 is set to the open position, the
inwardly spread air introducing port 13 receives a large quantity
of travelling wind and then guides it into the distribution chamber
12 through the through-hole 14. Therefore, the travelling wind is
blown over a wide range into the chin cover portion 1a through the
multiplicity of the first and second jet ports 15 and 16.
At that time, air blown out of the first ports 15 flows toward the
tip of the nose and the mouth of the operator to guide the
operator's breath towards the rear. Then the air along with the
breath passes through the sweat proof cushion 8 and ventilates the
interior of the cap body 1, after which the air flows out of the
discharge port 26 and/or of the lower end opening of the cap body
1. Particularly, negative pressure is being generated at the
outward opening of the discharge port 26 by travelling wind flowing
along the outer surface of the cap body 1, and therefore, the air
discharging action through the hole 26 is protected.
On the other hand, air blown out of the second ports 16 rises
upward along the inner surface of the shield plate 3. As the
result, cooperating with the guided flow of the operator's breath
rearwardly by the air blown from the first jet ports 15 as
previously mentioned, it is assured that the breath does not stay
inside the shield plate 3 and occurrence of a blur on the inner
surface of the shield plate 3 can be prevented.
The air which bas ascended along the inner surface of the shield
plate 3 flows through the sweat proof cushion 8 or passes through
the vent grooves 10 while ventilating the interior of the cap body
1, and the air flows out of the discharge holes 26 and/or of the
lower opening of the cap body 1.
Incidentally, even if, during travelling of a vehicle in the rain,
rain water enters the air introducing port 13, it can hardly reach
the through-hole 14 positioned above the introducing port 13. And
even if rain should pass through the through-hole 14 because of
heavy rainfall, energy of the rain can be effectively attenuated in
the distribution chamber 12 having a relatively large volume, and
therefore, the cap body 1 is not inundated with water. The rain
attenuated in the distribution chamber 12 flows from the
through-hole 14 to the outside.
Next, if the operating rod 22 is moved leftward by operating the
knob 22a by the finger tip to switch the valve body 17 to the
closed position, the first jet ports 15 and the second jet ports 16
are simultaneously closed by the plate-like valve portion 18 and
the tongue-like valve portions 19 respectively, and therefore,
supply of travelling wind from the distribution chamber 12 into the
cap body 1 stops promptly and positively. Since the slot 23 of the
shell 5 through which the operating rod 22 extends is always
covered with the knob 22a, entry of air into the slot 23 is
prevented, and a good external appearance is assured.
When the slide valves 25. 25 are opened, the travelling wind
blowing against the front surface of the cap body 1 flows also into
the air introducing holes 24, 24, further ventilating the interior
of the cap body 1 through the holes.
In the helmet H as described above, the distribution chamber 12 is
defined by the upper shell portion 5A, the lower shell portion 58,
which are superposed and connected with one another, and the edge
rubber 11 and moreover the air introducing port 13 is provided in
the lower shell portion 5B. Therefore, the distribution chamber 12
and the air introducing port 13 can be formed very easily, and even
if the distribution chamber 12 and the air introducing port 13 are
formed large in order to effectively introduce the travelling wind,
the strength of the shell 5 is not significantly impaired.
Particularly, in the case where the lower shell portion 5B is
injection molded, formation of the distribution chamber 12 and the
air introducing port 13 can be carried out very easily.
* * * * *